The adventure begins

Our family will be joining The Catalyst Foundation, http://catalystfoundation.org/on a humanitarian aid expedition to Vietnam. We are scheduled to leave on March 20, 2008 and return April 3, 2008. Catalyst is a grass roots organization working in the poorest regions of Vietnam. Included in the 80 participants, will be myself, Noah, & Jesse. We are being joined by Patty, as well as our friends Martha and her daughter Maya.

Here's our itinerary:

March 21/22 Arrive in HCMC/Saigon, Vietnam

March 22/23 FLY to KIEN GIANG province

March 23-25 WORK in KIEN GIANG

March 26-28 WORK in DONG THAP

March 29 WORK in HCMC/Saigon

March 30 CAMP in Ho Coc Beach

March 31 RELAX in BINH CHAU

April 1 Return to HCMC, Depart for U.S.

In 8 "working days" we will:

* Provide medical exams for our 200 girls (in our scholarship project) plus a few hundred more children and grown ups that will stand in line for hours to see our team,

* Start the construction of new homes in Kien Giang - we just signed a partnership with Habitat for Humanity (!!!!) - for the families living in the garbage dump. Renovate/Repair orphanages or schools in Dong Thap.

* Visit local schools to exchange goodwill and cultural gifts, deliver bikes for children and distribute tons of food for hundreds of families.

* Have a camp complete with campfire, outdoor movie, games, beach, soccer, crafts, songs, and the "My Vietnam Art Contest" for 200 children on the beaches of Ho Coc - yes we'll all be in a tent overnight too!

The Aid Expedition is a team experience, and Catalyst Foundation creates a supportive and positive VOLUNTEER VACATION.

Each day in Vietnam, thousands of children go without food, housing, education, and the basic necessities that you and I take for granted. In one of the 61 provinces alone, more than 10,000 children are orphaned and/or living on the streets. Only 13% of them get any kind of assistance at all to help them meet these most basic of human needs, the rest have no hope.

Catalyst Foundation is a nonprofit organization that has focused on a very poor area of Vietnam. This area near the Cambodian border is where children as young as 5 years of age are targeted for sexual trafficking. These children are enticed to work in a “restaurant” to help support their families, only to be unknowingly sold into a life as sex slaves. After being abused, they are left on the streets without means to support herself, or a way to get home.

80 volunteers (who will be paying for all of their expenses) from the U.S. will be traveling to participate in the Vietnam Aid Expedition this March and working to improve the living situations for these children, as well as promoting education and good health. Our expedition has five major goals:

1. 300 at-risk children will attend a special camp where they'll get a chance to eat nutritious meals, attend educational workshops, receive new backpacks full of clothes, shoes, and school supplies and share in the joys of simply being a kid. Most of these children have never known the feeling of a full stomach or believed that anyone would travel across the world just to spend time with them. It's a heartwarming weekend where friendships—and memories—are made.

2. We will distribute a month's worth of rice for 300 families to alleviate some of the struggles they face when trying to find food for the family. This will allow parents and grandparents to concentrate on other expenses, including schooling for the children, clothing and other basics.

3. New bikes will be given to 200 children. Every kid loves a bike, but these ones aren't just for fun. In remote villages, bikes are a vital form of transportation for poor families. A bike will enable a child to go to school and her family to go to market or the nearest health clinic. These locally made bikes are made to last for years and can carry heavy loads and will enable a child to travel much longer distances than on foot.

4. We will complete basic medical checkups to nearly 600 children in three rural villages. Annual flooding in the Mekong Delta area regularly threatens the lives and livelihoods of the people of this region. Serious diseases carried by water and mosquitoes threaten many people, particularly the vulnerable young. Our volunteer doctors and nurses will set up stations to diagnose and treat these common illnesses.

5. Raise money to build 100 new homes for families currently living in a garbage dump. Shelter from rain, wind and sun is a basic human need. There are over 400 families living and working in a garbage dump, no decent place to call home. In partnership with Habitat for Humanity Vietnam we are dedicated to building 100 in 2008, starting during the Aid Expedition.